A blessing.

It carried the meaning of “to protect.”

That was what a blessing in the world of Ares was: something born from the desire to protect that user.

An expert once said this about blessings.

-“A blessing is a special power that can only be bestowed by selected named NPCs, and at times by beings of even higher rank. Depending on how special that being is, and what kind of station they occupy, the number of blessings they can bestow is determined.”

-“For example, the commander of an order of knights guarding a certain territory. He will likely be able to bestow a blessing only once. But if he bestows such a blessing on someone, that means that user has built a very high bond with that NPC.”

-“Because that means that being truly wanted to carry out the act of ‘protecting’ them.”

It served as a wake-up call to users who had always ignored NPCs.

At one point, people even tried a “living together with NPCs challenge.”

Even so, the number of users who received blessings did not increase.

-“A blessing is not something you can gain simply by becoming friendly with them. There has to be a reason strong enough to make them want to protect that person.”

-“Have you created a reason why they must protect you?”

People realized it.

Those who possessed blessings were, at minimum, figures on the level of knight commanders.

Ordinary users could not receive blessings from them.

Then someone asked this.

-Who can bestow the greatest blessing current users can receive?

People thought it was a stupid question.

Because everyone who saw that question, and the person answering it, thought the same thing.

-“Kings [N O V E L I G H T] who lead nations. They are beings born with it from birth. How many users could receive the blessing of the parent of that nation? To satisfy them is an overwhelmingly great task, and for them to come to hold the desire to protect someone, the size of their vessel is too great.”

It was something many people agreed with.

And after wondering if it was truly impossible—

-“Even though it seems impossible like this, I do not want to use the word ‘absolute.’ Someone capable of grasping something they absolutely need. And among the 1.3 billion Ares players, an extremely small few who can build a high bond with them.”

-“That someone may be making a king want to protect them today. And a blessing carries the meaning of ‘to protect.’ Especially a blessing bestowed by a king—it would be the most special and precious blessing in this world. Because it means the king is protecting you.”

Hyunsoo came back to himself.

He had recalled what he had once seen about blessings in the past.

He turned over the notification he had heard again.

[The three kings will protect you!]

“......”

The three kings smiling gently were, to other users who met them, nothing more than fearful, terrifying, dreadful great beings.

But to one man among those 1.3 billion players, the North King was the being who had placed a hammer back into his hand.

The West King, who had once been unable to overcome his own overwhelmingly powerful status ailment, was a being who could smile like a child.

And the East King was someone who had come to hold “the desire to protect him,” a blacksmith who had poured his sincerity into Reconciliation.

“......”

There was something that felt like a lie.

Only a few hours ago, it had been Hyunsoo who had summoned Gremory here.

Because of that, the three kings had seen Gremory from afar, and had spoken those words.

That they would walk with him.

The three kings would protect him.

With the three greatest blessings in this world called Ares.

The North King, because he led the greatest number of soldiers,

with the blessing of Leading Tiger.

The East King, because he was a being with the most unbreakable spirit,

with the blessing of Valiant Tiger.

And the West King, though he wore the shape of the youngest child, because he contained the strongest force,

with the blessing of Mighty Tiger.

Because those three would guard and protect him, even the fear he had felt toward Gremory—

Can I really do this?

—even that doubt he had held.

I want to stop.

Even the desire to give up vanished like a lie.

Through that interview from the past and the situation now, he came to understand it.

That he was one of those 1.3 billion players.

And as proof of it—

[It has been proven that you are the user who has received the most blessings thus far.]

[You obtain the title One Protected by Ten Thousand.]

(One Protected by Ten Thousand...)

Unique Title

Grade: S

Special Abilities:

·When someone bestows a blessing upon you, the blessing’s effects become 30% greater.

·When someone bestows a blessing upon you, you additionally obtain +1 to all stats.

·When someone bestows a blessing upon you, the probability of creating a superior artifact additionally increases by 2% each time.

Description: You are one whom the greatest number wish to protect. In whatever adversity or hardship, you will be able to endure because of those who support you!

A new title had opened—one obtained only by Hyunsoo.

It’s getting lighter...

As he looked at the hammer the North King had put back into his hand, all the pressure crushing Hyunsoo vanished.

It was as if the three kings, along with the many others he had met until now, were loosening the grip Gremory had around his throat.

And within that release—

Have I ever faced something with a heart this unburdened before?

No.

Not even when he made his first artifact.

Not even when he crafted Radiance.

He had always forged as though pursued by the need to change his life.

But now, he was so light he felt like a feather.

That was why.

Instead, his mind became clearer, his body—once so heavy—grew lighter, and the emotion of joy arose within him.

SHWAAAAAAH—!

The blueprint of the White Tiger Sword, which he had thought of as so complicated, was suddenly drawn cleanly in an instant.

And for the first time in over ten years, he fell into a feeling like the pure joy he had felt as a child when he tried something for the very first time and loved it.

The heat of the forge he had first felt.

PSSSSSSH—

The humidity.

RUMMMMMBLE—

The sweltering heaviness.

And yet—

KRAAAAAK—

The blacksmith who had once watched the blazing furnace within that place with shining eyes had now become an adult.

SHIIIIIIK—!

That adult, who drew out the quenched White Tiger Sword and placed it atop the anvil,

had grown so tall without noticing that he now struck with skill beyond even remembering that day.

CLAAAAANG—!

CLAAAAANG—!

CLAAAAANG—!

It was not easy to sink into something like one had in childhood.

It was certainly difficult to lose yourself in something so fun, so enjoyable, so happy.

But today was different.

The White Tiger Sword, something original forged in the spirit of learning the old and knowing the new—

[The blacksmith’s soul reacts.]

—drew him into the joy and delight of that day.

Everyone remembers some day when they were fully immersed.

But everyone also says it.

Back then, I was young.

It was fun back then...

Now isn’t the time for that.

But the moment Hyunsoo sank into it now, the fact that this was a game gave it a special quality.

[You fall into a trance.]

Within that trance, where he forgot everything—

SHIIIIK—

CLAAAAANG—

SHIIIIK—

CLAAAAANG—!

Feeling the rhythm, the blacksmith—already sunk into it, without a single stray thought—moved toward that one thing drawn in his mind.

White.

Just as its first meaning implied, astonishingly, the blade being forged was white.

Tiger.

And to contain the tiger’s great force and strength, he was measuring the length of the blade and the edge in a way completely different from the Four Tiger Sword.

He abandoned the Four Tiger Sword that could not cut, and instead forged it with a sharp edge so one side could slice through an enemy in an instant.

CLAAAAANG—!

The sword’s length was neither that of a typical phantom blade, nor that of a greatsword too unwieldy to swing—it lay somewhere in between.

CLAAAAANG—!

By achieving an excellent balance point, he forged a sword that was not difficult to wield in one hand,

and would be even more destructive when swung with both hands—

something impossible in reality, yet possible in Ares.

Then he set down the almost-completed white blade and began making the grip by which the sword would be held.

This grip was not some flashy grip embroidered in gold or covered in all kinds of patterns.

The long white blade already proved that this sword was White Tiger.

And so, the scabbard and grip were made hard and easy to hold, yet outwardly as plain as could be.

He wrapped them round and round in cloth, giving them practicality too—so that at times the cold grip would not tear his hand apart, so that even after cutting down enemies, his own hand would not be injured.

At last—

THUD—!

As he raised it for the engraving work, the corners of his mouth curved upward.

He’s smiling?

He’s enjoying this?

...A true blacksmith indeed!

The three kings marveled.

And meanwhile, in Hyunsoo’s notification window—though he did not know it as he remained sunk in trance—a tremendous frenzy was erupting.

[You fall into a deeper and purer trance.]

[The title Trance is upgraded from Grade S to Grade SS.]

[An additional 20% is added to the probability of producing a superior artifact while in a trance.]

[You fall into Extreme Trance, which activates with a 20% probability.]

[The 20% probability of producing a superior artifact is applied immediately by entering Extreme Trance!!]

And then—

[Deng’s Hammer of Replication shines.]

[The probability of producing a superior artifact increases by 15%.]

Without stopping—

[The Crown Forged by God shines.]

[The probability of producing a superior artifact increases by 15%.]

And again—

[The stat Will is activated.]

[You will not grow tired!!]

And then, just as the notification A new story is beginning had applied to Bahala, it worked on him as well.

[Though you may break.]

[At a moment of certain death and utter crisis, you have found a breakthrough.]

[The completed artifact’s effects become 5% better.]

As if to say it still was not over, at last the three tigers in human form began changing into the shapes of tigers.

The North King became the largest tiger, with brown fur.

THUMP—!

The East King became a tiger a little smaller than the North King, with white fur.

KOOONG—!

The West King became the smallest tiger, but one with black fur.

KOOOONG—!

Those three tigers ran around the forge like mirages.

RUMMMMMBLE—!

At last, the force of the North King standing highest rose first.

KRAAAAAAGH—!

[The blessing of Leading Tiger descends!!]

[Various powers capable of imbuing the White Tiger Sword with many buffs for allies take root within it!]

Next came the East King’s force.

KRAAAAAK—!

[The blessing of Valiant Tiger descends!!]

[The White Tiger Sword is imbued with many offensive skills capable of triumphing over any enemy, and with power that increases all stats!]

Lastly, the tiger called the West King, containing the strongest force of all, struck down.

KRRRRRRR—

[The blessing of Mighty Tiger descends upon the White Tiger Sword!!]

[A tremendous status ailment that even a god cannot resist takes root within it!]

At last, the three tigers joined again and became one.

That was what happened within a single sword.

[The greatest tiger becomes one once more, if only briefly.]

[The enormous power of the White Tiger begins to stir within the White Tiger Sword!]

[The title Pledge Your Loyalty to Me shines!]

[The system recognizes the blessings bestowed upon the item you were crafting and grants privileges to the sword!]

[The blessing of Leading Tiger takes root in the sword and produces effects 20% greater!]

[The blessing of Valiant Tiger takes root in the sword and produces effects 20% greater!]

[The blessing of Mighty Tiger takes root in the sword and produces effects 20% greater!]

And together with that—

THUUUUD—!

At the moment the three exhausted tigers collapsed,

Hyunsoo, gripping the sword’s hilt and lifting it, came out of Extreme Trance.

[Extreme Trance is canceled.]

He stood there at the end of the insane flood of notifications, the effects that had occurred now, and the final effect at the end of them all.

Just how many effects went off...?

Notifications that still had not ended were pouring upward.

[The blacksmith’s soul activates!!]

[Correction.]

[The White Tiger Sword is already a sword that leads the current era!]

[The blacksmith’s soul is about to lose its light!]

Behind that power, activating more noisily than at any other time—

[The blacksmith’s soul does not break!]

[You poured your story into this sword as you made it!]

[According to your story, you fell into the joy, delight, exhilaration, and immersion of the time when you first made a sword in childhood, and crafted with a greater degree of immersion than ever before.]

[The blacksmith’s soul reacts once more to your originality!]

[Though it was changed from the original Four Tiger Sword into the White Tiger Sword, the White Tiger Sword has come to contain the power of the greatest tiger!]

[A wondrous achievement!!]

[The White Tiger Sword has been completed!]

And with that, Hyunsoo—holding the White Tiger Sword, its white blade wrapped at the grip with cloth—began to hear it.

Kr... uh... uh... uh... ung... 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

A small cry beginning to spread from the sword started spreading across all of Ares.

KRAAAAAOOOAR—!!!!

It was a shocking event.

And the creator, Hyunsoo, knew better than anyone why it was happening.

Its true nature—

[The effect corresponding to the forging of the White Tiger Sword is activated!]

[The cry of a tiger resounds across all of Ares!]

It was an artifact forging effect.